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German GP: Post Race press conference

NEWS STORY
24/07/2011

Lewis, your second win of the season and I get the feeling that meant a little bit more than your first win of the season.
Lewis Hamilton: Yeah, I think so. I think every win is special but I think the emotion and all the energy the team put into the car and the effort they have put in… when we don't see results like this it slowly builds up, so when you finally hit the sweet-spot and get it, I think it is just ever better. It just couldn't feel any better. I think we never expected to come here this weekend and be so fast. We were hindered in the last race a little bit, but the guys did a fantastic job, really pushing very hard. Even the guys back at Brixworth HPE are pushing very hard and the engine was great. I just feel great. I think one of the best races I think I have ever done.

Fernando, the top three finishers were all pushing hard but maybe pushing a little bit too hard in your case, as you ran out of fuel at the end of the race. Did that compromise your fight with Lewis towards the latter stages?
Fernando Alonso: No, not really. I think in the last stint we could not get any closer to Lewis. I think with the medium tyres we were not too quick, so we just controlled the gap with Mark and secured the second place. For us, it was a fantastic race, a fantastic Sunday again. We struggled a little in quali, being fourth yesterday, but today the car showed great pace, a great degradation of the tyres, so we can keep the pace of the leaders and we jump (Sebastian) Vettel on the track and Mark in the pit-stop. It was great the second place after the win in Silverstone, the second place in Valencia, so it is definitely a good moment of the championship for us. Next week we have another opportunity.

Mark, describe your emotions after another pole position that sadly, for you, you couldn't convert into a win.
Mark Webber: Yeah, we weren't quick enough today. Did everything I could. I was happy with how I drove. I think these guys just had that little extra margin when they needed to do it, especially at the back part of the stints. A little bit more range and that made us a little bit exposed on strategy. We know what we have got to improve on. I couldn't have got much more out of what we had today, so disappointed not to get the win, but all three of us had a smooth day really. A good fight around the stops. Like you say, mixed emotions. Another good result. You need to perform at a high level to get these, but we will keep learning. The progress has been decent but we need to improve.

Lewis, where did your extra margins come from? How much was down to the car and how much was down to you?
LH: Well, I think none of us can win without the car. I think bit by bit just learning more about the how the car is behaving and with the driving style I was able to learn to look after the tyres a little bit more. There were certain areas where I was losing out to these guys. I was quickest in the first sector, quickest in the last sector, but struggling in the middle sector, so it was really improving my line in a lot of different places, particularly turn three. At the apex of turn three I was sliding my tyres quite a lot but later on I was able to recover from that and avoid the sliding. At turn eight, which is the fast chicane, I wasn't able to take (it) flat out at the beginning of the race, while Mark was and he was catching me massively. With a couple of alterations and with all the switches that we have, all the toys we have, it was really fantastic for me to be able to make steps forward. I was really surprised again that my tyres lasted so long later on in the race, so I guess there are still areas we need to improve on, particularly on heavier fuel for the beginning of the race, but this is a massive step forward and I really hope that we, as a team, can really use this to propel us forward and to keep the momentum going.

Fernando, it was such a close fight between all three of you for pretty much all of the 60 laps. How difficult was it to concentrate on the racing and the overtaking while trying to focus on what you needed to do to save tyres and save fuel in your case as well?
FA: Yeah, it was an attacking race. In a way we didn't concentrate too much on the tyres today because when you are in a group fighting three cars together you are just concentrating on getting close enough to the DRS zones and using your KERS in the best possible place. It did work with Sebastian, I was able to overtake him. It didn't work at some other parts of the race, but I think it was nice to watch the fight of all three and at the end fantastic result for us again. Quite a good race.

For the first time this season the championship leader doesn't sit amongst the top three. Mark, is this what we can expect from here on in as we move into the second half of the season, a close fight between you and Sebastian at Red Bull and Lewis at McLaren and Fernando at Ferrari as well?
MW: Yeah, hope so.

What gives you that confidence that it is going to be such a great fight? From what we've seen today or by the developments you feel the three teams are making?
MW: Well, the last three races it has closed up if you want to talk about the little comparison between us two but obviously the main comparison is with our opposition. We got beaten at the last race and we got beaten here, so you don't have to be Einstein to work out that we need to keep working hard. We have had a phenomenal run. We are still leading the constructors' (Championship) very, very well. Seb has got a good lead in the Drivers' (Championship) but you have got to keep being consistent and learning. We have got great people at the factory and reliability is still good. Obviously JB (Jenson Button) dropped out today so that's an added bonus for us in the team, so keep our head down and press on.

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